Podcast: Public consultation on the future of the European Court of Human Rights

In this podcast, David Milner gives the background to plans for a public consultation on the future of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Head of the Court Reform Unit reveals why the Council of Europe has launched a public consultation on the longer-term future of Europe’s human rights system, based on the European Convention on Human Rights and the European court in Strasbourg.

Milner wants individuals and organisations to offer their contributions on any aspect of the convention system, such as:

• Future challenges to the convention and the court
• The role of the court in helping to protect and interpret individual rights
• Possible reforms to help cut the backlog of cases at the court
• The procedure for implementing court judgments and the role of national authorities
• Payment of compensation to applicants

“Everything is on the table and everything is up for discussion,” Milner adds. “Everything is open to being re-examined. Every aspect of the system is up for grabs.”

The deadline for contributions, submitted via the Council of Europe website, is 12h (CET) on Monday 27 January 2014. A committee of experts nominated by member states will review the information and a report will be submitted to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers by 15 April 2015.